'human-era' is a compound formed from English 'human' and 'era'. 'human' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'humanus', where the root 'hum-' related to 'man' or 'person'; 'era' originates from Late Latin/Medieval Latin 'era' (also seen as 'aera'), meaning 'a fixed point in time' or 'epoch'.

'human' entered English via Old French/Latin as 'humanus' and evolved into Middle English 'human'; 'era' entered English via Old French 'ere' from Latin 'aera' and came to mean a period or epoch. The compound 'human-era' is a modern coinage formed by combining these two elements, influenced by contemporary discussions about human-driven geological change (e.g., 'Anthropocene').

Individually, 'human' originally meant simply 'of or relating to people', and 'era' meant 'a period of time'; together in 'human-era' the combined meaning has become a technical/poetic label for an epoch characterized by human impact on Earth, a usage that has grown in currency in the 20th–21st centuries.